WowWee's 2009 Lineup Offers Improvements, Surprises

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WowWee's 2009 Lineup Offers Improvements, Surprises

WowWee has announced some cool new products at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Along with the usual extensions of existing product lines (more variants of their WowWee Alive Cubs, more humanoid robots) there are some pretty cool and innovative products:

FlyTech Lightstar

A follow-up to 2008's Bladestar chopper, this bad boy only has one prop, balancing it on the other side with a pod sporting an LED that creates a UFO-like halo effect. Comes with a 3-channel remote. (Looks more sturdy and finished than its predecessor.)

Joebot

WowWee has a strong tradition for creating robotic pets and companions – for instance, the Chatterbot, Alive Cubs and TriBot. Continuing with this theme, they've created the Joebot, a voice-controlled, music-oriented robot. Tap out a beat and Joebot will not only join in, he'll groove to the beat. Belying its friendly appearance, it can be set to Battle mode where it blasts you with its hand-mounted LED, and you can fight back with any TV remote that uses infrared. (By the way, our colleague Dylan Tweney from Gadget Lab covers this one in his report from CES.)

FlyTech Hoverpod

Continuing with WowWee's yen for awesome nontraditional aircraft, this miniature hovercraft is designed for speed – and with dual-channel IR remote, you can race another Hoverpod. (Not sure if it can fly over water... accidental immersion couldn't be good.)

Spyball

A ball-shaped robot complete with pop-up webcam! Remote-controlled and Wifi capable, you can control the Spyball from anywhere on the Internet. (Now, if only they could add a Nerf gun... and why couldn't they make the whole robot roll like the Star Wars destroyer robot?)

Cinemin

The most startling departure from WowWee's usual offerings is the Cinemin, a set of three iPhone/iPod projectors. (Or Zune projector I suppose, HA!) The smaller units are candy bar sized and can project onto a nearby wall or even the ceiling. The larger Cinemin also includes a charging station and sports superior audio.